Black hair stylists are some of the, if not the most, creative and talented hair stylists on the face of the planet. It’s been up for debate as to why black stylists have seen a huge decrease in regular clientele. Now there are some very professional black hair stylists but this isn’t about them. If you are a stylist and you get butt hurt behind what you are about to read, that is probably a sign that you need to do a little self reflection. Let’s go over five reasons why black hair stylists lose clients.
Reason #1: Horrible Time Management
Now I am a very punctual person. I definitely call my current stylist to let her know before my scheduled appointment if I’m running late. A lot of hair stylists on the other hand are chronically late. I mean not 10 mins late. I am talking about 30, 45, 1 whole hour late to an appointment with your client. The nerve, right? I’ve even been in several salons where stylists post signs informing clients that if the client is late that there will be a $15-$20 charge for their tardiness. What is funny is that when stylists who are late themselves they don’t think to deduct $15-$20 from the clients bill since they had to sit and wait for the stylists to stroll in. Get it together ladies. Everyone’s time is precious, especially those that are paying you.
Reason #2: Overbooked
Have you ever walked in the salon for your 10:30 a.m. appointment to see that there are 5-10 clients locked in under dryers that went off a while ago just wasting away? You pan over to peek at your stylists chair and she has another client sitting in the chair with a wet head and then she says to you, “Oh hey girl, I’m just running behind a little bit. Go ahead and have a seat.” Wait. What? She can’t be serious. Stylist it makes absolutely no sense that you have clients in your salon for hours upon hours. Yes what you are able to do to a client’s hair is a form of art but if this is your true passion you have to put time into practicing your craft to be faster at work. This is one of the easiest ways to lose clients left and right. When you overbook clients you are showing them that you have absolutely no regard for their time and in a sense view them as being expendable. Shame on you all.
Reason #3: The Disappearing Act
One thing that I know drives clients up the wall is when their stylist takes an extended break. I’ve heard it all. Everything from stylists leaving to pick kids up from school down to stylists making a “quick” run to the house and even making a run to the mall. By the time some of y’all get back the client was done drying under the dryer 45 minutes ago. Build a support system with your family to get side errands taken care of and schedule your clients around your lunch breaks. Remember disappearing for long periods of time during an appointment can result in food disappearing from your families table.
Reason #4: Selling Salt To A Slug
When black stylists tell a client that they have expertise in everything knowing that they haven’t performed some services since cosmetology school is just unacceptable. If you are an expert in weaving, then be a expert in weaving. If you are a master colorists, then by all means my dear color away. I’ve had a stylist to attempt to color my hair to a sandy brown color but the color was off. Reason being that she applied color to my roots first which gave me hot roots. Instead of taking ownership in her f*ck up, she tried to convince me that it was a new trend called “Reverse Ombre”. Child what? If you aren’t comfortable doing a service simply say, “NO”. The worst feeling as a client is feeling as if you were taken for your money and that the stylist didn’t care about the integrity of your hair. One bad or half assed service by you may have gotten money in your pocket today but not on a regular basis.
Reason #5: Hair Shaming
Trust and believe that no one, permed or natural, wants to experience this in your chair and then have you stick your hand out for payment afterwards. Would you still pay Zara, Neiman Marcus, or Victoria Secret if the sales representative talked about how you have a F.U.P.A? No, right? So before you complain about your clients hair texture remember that you are providing a service that is supposed to boost their self-esteem. You are in the beauty industry and they want to leave your chair feeling beautiful. Your negative commentary is counter productive to having the client feel comfortable with returning in the future.
Luckily I have found a wonderful stylist named Tiffany Wheatley. She is prompt, professional, and knowledgable about hair. Her and the other stylists of the salon are great at what they do and provide great customer service.
Have you turned to doing your own hair at home because of one the reasons I mentioned? Comment below.
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